FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Abies bracteata | Bristlecone Fir 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
Bristlecone fir is easily killed by fire due to its dense branching
habit and thin bark [1,12].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
Frequent or intense fire probably eliminates bristlecone fir [12].  An
August, 1977 wildfire burned 178,000 acres in the Santa Lucia Mountains.
The fire was extremely intense due to a large accumulation of dead brush
and other fuels.  Many bristlecone fir groves escaped the fire because
they occurred on steep, rocky terrain that did not carry the fire.  The
largest bristlecone fir in the area (51 inches [129.5 cm] in diameter)
appeared undamaged 10 months after the fire.  Ground fires did not burn
into many of the fir stands, though trees on the edges of the stands
were killed [12].  Griffin [12] suspected, however, that insect damage
would eventually kill more trees than the fire.  He based this
supposition on the work of Talley [27], who observed that two
bristlecone fir groves lost only a small number of trees as a direct
effect of the 1970 Buckeye Fire, but had higher mortality rates as a
result of postfire insect damage.


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
NO-ENTRY


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
NO-ENTRY

Related categories for Species: Abies bracteata | Bristlecone Fir